


Bound To You

by sleepydanceur



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-15
Updated: 2015-02-15
Packaged: 2018-03-13 03:48:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,445
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3366614
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sleepydanceur/pseuds/sleepydanceur
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Someone handcuffs Chanyeol and Jongin's hands together while they're sleeping and the key goes missing."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bound To You

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt taken from [here ](https://twitter.com/chankaiprompts/status/560231121712349185) . Happy (late orz) Valentine's Day!! ;u;

Waking up to realize he’d dozed off and slept on the couch all night always means a pounding headache and painfully stiff limbs. Chanyeol's neck is so sore he can barely straighten it up; the cricks in it from sleeping at an odd angle against the headrest all night have done quite a number on him. There's sunlight streaming in through the windows where the curtains are drawn back. Must have been Junmyeon; he can hear someone puttering around in the kitchen. 

Letting his head loll to the side, he finds Jongin sleeping beside him, right where he'd been last night while they were watching a late night movie together on TV. He's slumped against the couch at a clearly uncomfortable angle, with his chin almost touching his chest. He's gonna feel it in his back when he wakes up, Chanyeol frets, concerned. Despite the position though, he looks rather peaceful, his deep breathing making his chest rise and fall steadily as his eyelashes flutter every now and then. It's almost rare nowadays to see him looking so uninhibited and calm like this, as though nothing in the world can touch or hurt him. Their schedules have been insane lately, and while it drains all of them right down to the bone, Jongin's been looking particularly worse for wear. They've finally got a single day that’s clear of schedules this time, which is the only reason Junmyeon hasn't shaken them awake yet to send them off into the shower. Chanyeol doesn't know what time it is, but he doesn't want to wake Jongin; he could use all the sleep he can get. 

Jongin whines in his sleep, mumbling a little as his head lolls to the side, bangs falling into his face. Sighing fondly, Chanyeol makes to reach up and brush the hair out of his eyes gently but his hand is inexplicably weighed down. Blinking, Chanyeol looks down and his eyes nearly bug out of his head, just barely swallowing down his yelp in time. His wrist is handcuffed to Jongin's where it’s lying limply by his side on the couch cushion. Despite his effort not to make a sound, however, Jongin begins to rouse slowly, jostled by Chanyeol’s sudden movement. He cracks his eyes open slowly, face scrunching as he squints in the harsh morning sunlight. 

Gritting out a stream of curses, Chanyeol tugs at the handcuff around his wrist, trying to pry it open with his fingers but it doesn’t budge. Jongin's face twists into a scowl; he always was a terrible morning person. He groans when the ache of the position he's sitting in seem to hit him and his expression crumples into that familiar one of agony, biting down hard on his bottom lip as he tries to straighten up. Before Chanyeol can explain to him what happened, Jongin tries to yank his hand back to press it against his waist but his movement is halted by the weight of Chanyeol's hand cuffed to his own. Mouth falling open, Jongin furiously blinks the sleep out of his eyes as he squints down, gawking at the silver handcuffs binding them together.

"What the fuck," he croaks, his voice still hoarse from sleep. "Why are we handcuffed together?"

"I don't know, I just found them myself," Chanyeol grunts, trying his hand at prying the metal open again. Huffing in frustration when it still doesn’t work, he lifts his arm up to run his hand roughly through his hair but he forgets yet again that the cuffs are on that side, accidentally yanking Jongin's hand with him. 

"Fuck, sorry, sorry," Chanyeol immediately lowers his hand apologetically, feeling bad when he sees Jongin slumping back against the couch with a sigh. He reaches back with his free hand to massage his waist instead.

"How much do you wanna bet it was Jongdae or Baekhyun?" Jongin grumbles, words slurring as he starts falling asleep again.

“How much do you wanna bet it was both,” Chanyeol grunts in reply, feeling around the couch with his free hand, in search of his phone and finds it wedged between the cushions. 

He shoots off a message on LINE to both Jongdae and Baekhyun, and calls them three times before cutting off, hoping vehemently that their loud ringtones wake them up. 

_"What the fuck dude?"_

_"The hell is your problem"_

Chanyeol snaps a picture of the handcuffs, noting that Jongin has gone quiet beside him and realizes that he's dozed off again. 

Their reply doesn't come quickly and Chanyeol's willing to bet anything they're sniggering about it together. The smirking LINE stickers they send back confirm his suspicions. 

Sending a stream of curses and threats demanding they get out here and uncuff them, Chanyeol grits his teeth, the cold metal of the cuffs uncomfortable against his warm skin. 

_"Now, now, Park,"_ they send back, _"No need to be such a Valentine-Scrooge"_

Spluttering, Chanyeol ignores the way heat immediately rushes into his cheeks and fumbles to type back. 

_"What the hell is that supposed to mean"_  
 _  
"It means you're not as subtle as you think you are. We had no choice but to step in"_

Another stream of smirking stickers.

Chanyeol furiously sends them another litany of threats but the messages go unread, both of them clearly ignoring their phones. Assholes. 

"So, who was it?"

Jongin's sudden voice beside him startles him and Chanyeol nearly drops his phone. Blacking out the screen quickly, he turns to look at Jongin who’s blinking up at him drowsily. 

"Both of them," Chanyeol mumbles, glaring down at the cuffs as though that would help somehow.

"Did they say why?" Jongin probes, raising a fist to rub at his eyes.

Chanyeol swallows drily and stuffs his phone in his pocket.

"No, they're just assholes." 

 

By the time Baekhyun and Jongdae finally deem it time to emerge from their bedrooms, Jongin and Chanyeol have managed to manouver themselves fairly easily to the kitchen. They sit side by side at the table as Junmyeon runs a hand through his sleep tousled hair in exasperation. Jongin is still sleepy, nodding off on Chanyeol's shoulder just as the troublesome duo strut into the kitchen looking pleased as punch at the sight. 

Baekhyun throws Chanyeol a pointed ‘ _see_ ’ expression when he spots Jongin nuzzling into his neck; _‘it’s working’_. Chanyeol fights the flush rising in his face as he glares back at Baekhyun. 

"Well," Jongdae chirps with a grin to match Baekhyun's. "I see you two are...bonding."

They snicker under their breaths, only looking the slightest bit sheepish when Junmyeon smacks them both on the back of their heads.

"Fix it," he tells them before walking out of the kitchen, his pleasant smile a stark contrast to the steely look in his eyes. 

Chanyeol turns to shake Jongin awake gently, struggling not to coo when Jongin sniffles as he forces his eyes open again. He immediately spots Baekhyun and Jongdae standing across the kitchen from them and straightens up, considerably more awake. He reaches up to rub his eyes to glare at them properly but only winds up accidentally pulls Chanyeol's hand up with him again. Baekhyun bursts into laughter, swatting Jongdae's arm as the latter tries to bite his smile away.

Chanyeol notes the embarrassed flush blooming in his cheeks and the way he pointedly refuses to meet Chanyeol's eye. 

"Hyung, come on," Jongin whines, looking at them pleadingly. "It's our day off I just want to go back to sleep."

Chanyeol nods his agreement beside him, deciding to let Jongin do the talking. As much as the two love picking on Chanyeol, he knows they both have a terrible soft spot for their youngest. 

They eye him for a moment before shifting their eyes to Chanyeol, making a show of considering it as they enjoy their predicament a little longer. Finally, Baekhyun heaves out a long, dramatic sigh and nudges Jongdae expectantly. 

"Come on," he laments, sounding as though it pains him to let them go. "Get the key out."

Jongdae snorts and elbows him back, "Don't look at me, you kept the key."

Whipping his head around, Baekhyun turns to gawks at him, eyes wide in surprise. "No way, I thought you had the key!"

"You're kidding, right?" Jongdae says disbelievingly. "I could’ve sworn you held on to it this whole time!"

Temple vein twitching, Chanyeol gets to his feet, ready to throttle the both of them but the weight on his wrist reminds him of the handcuffs once again. Backing away and out of the kitchen, the duo scuttle off, calling out promises to tear their room down to find it. 

“Guess we’ll just have to try and break the chain then,” Chanyeol grunts, turning to rifle through the kitchen drawers he can reach. His search comes up empty.

“How do we not have a single pair of pliers in this dorm,” Jongin groans as he pillows his head on his arm against the table. “They actually tightened the cuffs, so I guess trying butter to slip them off is pointless.” 

Chanyeol sends a scathing glare in the general direction of Baekhyun and Jongdae’s room even if they can’t see him. It’s going to be a long day, he thinks as he reaches for the cereal box and sets it down between them on the table with a resigned sigh. 

 

-

 

They're sitting side by side on the couch later that afternoon and Chanyeol can feel the movements of Jongin's leg bouncing up and down. He's jittery, not focusing on what's happening on the television screen. Instead he keeps sneaking glances at the clock on the wall and playing around restlessly with his phone. After the third sigh he breathes out, Chanyeol mutes the sound on the TV and turns to face Jongin.

"Is something wrong? Well, besides the obvious," he adds with a little smile, shaking his hand to make the rings on the chain clink quietly. 

Jongin blinks at him, chewing on his lower lip as though debating whether he wants to dismiss the question or not.

"I just–" he starts anyway, throwing another glance at the clock. "This is usually the time I pop into the practice room for a bit, I was hoping to work on the choreo some more..." he trails off, averting his eyes looking downcast. Chanyeol has come to understand how much Jongin hates being cooped up in the dorms for too long without being able to burn some energy the way he knows and loves best. 

Raising the remote again, he flicks the TV off before getting to his feet. He tugs on Jongin's handcuffed hand with his own expectantly, raising an eyebrow.

"Well?" he says when Jongin stays seated, blinking up at him with wide eyes.

"What– really? Like this?" Jongin gawps at him, standing up uncertainly. "Hyung I hardly think that'll work..."

"Maybe," Chanyeol cuts in, already tugging him to the door. "But we can't really tell before we try, can we?" 

The chances of it working are close to zero really but either way, Jongin still looks somewhat mollified about getting out of the dorm for a bit. Chanyeol turns to hide his smile, leading the way out of the dorm as Jongin's fingers brush against his own. 

 

-

 

Of course it doesn't work out at all, not that either of them had expected any differently. Jongin takes the challenge and tries to adapt the choreo to work for a two man unit but he picks it up much quicker than Chanyeol and the weight of him on Jongin's wrist anchors him down. Chanyeol tries to accommodate him, letting Jongin steer his arm in the way he wants but he can’t keep up with him or predict where he wants Chanyeol's arm next. 

It’s not long before Jongin huffs out a ragged sigh of frustration, running his free hand through his hair. 

Chanyeol blows his hair out of his face, standing beside Jongin wordlessly, not wanting to aggravate his frustration. He stares down at their handcuffed hands pensively before he gets a sudden idea. Jongin is still glaring at the wall mirrors in front of them and Chanyeol takes the opportunity to catch his attention in the reflection. He wiggles his free hand beside him, trying for the best arm wave he can muster before waving his other arm, jerking Jongin out of his transfixion. He blinks up at Chanyeol with furrowed brows, looking confused as Chanyeol shakes at the handcuffs pointedly. He repeats the arm wave, even though Jongin misses the wave again. 

"The hell– oh my god." 

He lets out a disbelieving laugh when Chanyeol does it again; it's a start. 

"Come on Jongin," Chanyeol cheers, returning the wave Jongin tentatively sends him, "you wanted to come and dance right?" 

Jongin laughs, about to interject but Chanyeol takes a sudden step back, disrupting the arm wiggling and instead tugs on Jongin's arm to pull him closer. Linking their fingers, Chanyeol presses them together chest to chest and raises their handcuffed hands out to the side as he slips his free arm lightly around Jongin's waist. 

"Then dance we must!" he declares dramatically, his face entirely serious even though he can’t quite bite back his grin when Jongin dissolves into laughter. He swings Jongin around with him, dashing around the room with him in what probably is the least elegant and graceful form of tango to its name. Chanyeol can see the way Jongin’s frown slips away into a smile as a bubble of giggles tumble from Jongin's lips. 

He lets go of Jongin's waist at one point to spin him around, then spins him back the other way around to untangle the chain of the handcuffs. Jongin's laughing easily now, the uncontrollable high pitched shrieking laugh, uninhibited and free. His eyes crinkle into narrow crescents, and he's laughing so hard he can barely hold himself upright. Chanyeol is half wheezing from his own laughter, still leading the dance and tugging Jongin all over the place until finally pulling him into his own chest and stilling, panting from the exertion. 

Jongin heaves against him, their cuffed hands still linked loosely by their fingers, hanging limply by their sides even as Chanyeol feels Jongin's other hand settle lightly on the small of his back. Jongin's breath fans against his skin where he’s buried his face in Chanyeol’s neck, still half giggling as he tries to catch his breath.

Jongin's hand is warm on his back, sneaking farther around his waist to hold him more closely and he wonders if he can hear the way Chanyeol's heart stutters in his chest. It’s comfortable like this, being pressed against Jongin, leaning his cheek against the side of Jongin's head. Their laughter has died down and the playlist on Jongin's iPod has reached the end, throwing them into the thick silence of the small practice room with nothing but the sound of their heavy breathing. 

Eventually, Chanyeol finds it in himself to pull away a little, immediately missing the warmth of Jongin's head. Jongin pulls back too, the trace of a small smile still playing on his lips and he looks at Chanyeol as though he wants to tell him something. The second he parts his lips, though, he’s interrupted by Taemin's Danger blaring out from Jongin’s phone in his pocket. The moment is broken and his attention is snapped away, his arm falling from Chanyeol's waist to fish his phone out. Chanyeol breathes out a quiet sigh at the loss of the touch, waiting for Jongin to finish the call. 

"That was Junmyeon-hyung," Jongin says, stepping away completely and straightening out his clothes in the mirror. "He said dinner's almost ready."

"Right," Chanyeol murmurs, looking down at their cuffed hands, fingers no longer linked together. "Guess it's time to go then." 

 

-

 

Dinner turns out to be a choice between four different types of pizza; Minseok and Yixing took advantage of their day off to make their own homemade pizza for the rest of them. It's noisy and messy, as it always is, people talking over each other and yelling across the table to be heard from the other side, stray hands reaching across and groping around for more food. 

Chanyeol munches on his own slice of pizza, laughing at a joke Jongdae cracks at Baekhyun's expense. Next to him, Jongin is deep in conversation with Junmyeon sitting on his other side, taking large bites out of his own pizza hungrily. 

He should have known it was coming but Chanyeol feels the yank of the handcuff around his wrist just before his hand smashes into the hard edge of the table and he yelps in pain. Jongin whirls around looking mortified, immediately retracting his hand from where he'd been trying to reach for another slice of pizza from the plate in the middle of the table. Chanyeol cradles his hand, wincing at the sharp throb from where it slammed right into the edge. 

"Shit, sorry hyung," he mumbles, brows knitted together guiltily. “I forgot– here, you gotta– ” 

He grabs Chanyeol’s hand with his free one and frantically rubs steady circles into the back of his hand where he’d knocked it. His hands are still greasy from the pizza but he keeps going and Chanyeol doesn't stop him, only watches him silently.

“Gotta rub it so it doesn’t bruise too badly,” Jongin explains quietly, and Chanyeol feels his heart skip a beat at how gently Jongin handles him. He can’t see Jongin’s eyes where they’re hidden behind the thick curtain of his bangs, but he doesn't miss the burning red at the tips of his ears. 

Chanyeol squirms when he suddenly notices the smirks Jongdae and Baekhyun are shooting their way. Even Junmyeon is throwing them odd looks but he says nothing, helping himself to another slice of pizza and engaging Kyungsoo in conversation instead.

"Does it still hurt?"

Chanyeol's attention snaps back to Jongin at the sound of the guilt in his voice and he realizes that he hasn’t even said a word since Jongin took his hand. 

He pulls his hand out of Jongin's hold, only to reach back quickly to squeeze his fingers reassuringly when Jongin's face falls. 

"It's fine now, really," he assures him. "Don't worry about it." 

Jongin still looks unsure but he doesn't press on, mumbling one last apology before returning to his food and Chanyeol is left to deal with the phantom heat and softness of Jongin's fingers on his hand. 

 

-

 

They forego showering, realizing that there’s no way they’d be able to get out of their hoodies with their wrists cuffed together and Chanyeol has absolutely no intention of taking a scissors to the fabric. It’s a little gross, but Jongin is already yawning into his fist, sleepy and droopy eyed after the big meal and Chanyeol knows he’ll be gone to the world the second his head hits the pillow anyway.

They get to their shared room and the problem immediately presents itself to them.

“So uh,” Chanyeol rubs the back of his head as he glances at Jongin. “D’you wanna sleep in my bed and do we use yours?”

Jongin yawns into his hand again, swaying on the spot, his shoulder bumping into Chanyeol’s. 

“Whichever, I don’t mind,” he murmurs, looking up at Chanyeol sleepily. He leans into him a little and Chanyeol winds his finger around two of Jongin’s, guiding them to his own bed. It takes some shifting and grunting before they manage to find a comfortable position, both of them lying on their sides facing each other with their handcuffed hands lying on the mattress. 

“This is exhausting,” Jongin sighs, inching a little closer when Chanyeol covers them both with the blanket.

“Sorry,” Chanyeol says apologetically, slumping against his pillow, just as worn out as Jongin is. 

“It’s not like this is your fault,” Jongin murmurs, curling a finger around Chanyeol’s index finger and squeezes lightly. He doesn’t pull away though, keeping their fingers linked loosely. 

He dozes off soon after that and Chanyeol sighs to himself as he tugs the blanket up higher to cover Jongin’s shoulder properly. It kind of is his fault, he muses, that he apparently can’t hide how smitten he is by Jongin.

 

-

 

When he jolts awake, it's still dark and one glance at the digital clock on the nightstand tells him it's way too early to even think of waking up. He registers the press of Jongin's body against him, relishing the toasty warmth under the sheets but his uncomfortably full bladder stops him from settling down and falling asleep again. 

Cursing under his breath, he shifts around to sit up, staring down at handcuffs perplexed. He feels bad about having to wake Jongin up at three in the morning but it's pretty urgent. Sighing, Chanyeol places a hand on Jongin's shoulder and shakes him gently. It's difficult to wake him with how deeply he sleeps but a few more shakes and calls of his name rouses him enough to frown up at Chanyeol grumpily. 

"What?" he slurs, curling into himself, trying to compensate for the loss of heat from where Chanyeol had been lying. 

"I have to pee, I'm sorry."

Jongin whines, burrowing deeper into the sheets before finally kicking them off reluctantly, eyes still closed. Chanyeol takes that as assent enough and climbs off the bed, tugging Jongin up with him with a hand around his wrist.

He mumbles sleepily the whole way to the bathroom and Chanyeol has to guide him inside carefully to make sure he doesn't bump into anything. He tries to be quick about it, not wanting to keep Jongin up for too long, knowing how much he desperately needs every minute of sleep he can get. They all do. 

He's just about done when he feels a sudden weight on his shoulder, and he blinks in surprise. Twisting his neck around as best he can, he manages to spot the messy mop of Jongin's hair. He’s fallen asleep on Chanyeol's shoulder standing up, while Chanyeol had been taking a piss. 

Snorting, he finishes off, chuckling when Jongin whines sleepily at the movement. Maneuvering Jongin off his shoulder gently as he washes his hands off, he takes Jongin's hand and laces their fingers together to lead him back to the room. Jongin stumbles into him a couple of time before Chanyeol gets them both back into bed, a far cry from the sure footed, graceful dancer he is when he's decidedly more awake. 

Chanyeol pulls the sheets up over them, tugging Jongin closer to him and away from the edge of the bed with an arm around his waist. Jongin nestles into him, instinctively shifting closer to the source of warmth and settles down with his head tucked under Chanyeol's chin and a knee pushed between his thighs. Chanyeol doesn't even realize he's smiling until his cheeks begin to ache. 

_‘Shit, I’m so fond,_ ’ he muses with a sigh. It takes him another hour to finally close his eyes, only falling into a fitful, restless sleep until the first light of day seeps through the crack of the curtains again.

 

-

 

The next morning is a repeat of the day before, stumbling to the kitchen and taking a moment to gain balance together. Their only schedule of the day isn't till the afternoon so they still have time to figure something out. 

Breakfast goes by smoothly, both of them careful with their hands not to yank the other accidentally this time, though they still move involuntarily before remembering themselves in time.

Chanyeol still feels tired even though he’s just woken up, not having gotten much rest at all through the night and Jongin is content to just settle down back on Chanyeol’s bed with him so they can watch a movie on his laptop.

Chanyeol can feel the beginnings of a headache forming behind his eyeballs and he's too distracted to be careful when he yanks their linked wrists up to press a finger to the bridge of his nose.

"Shit, sorry," he groans, slumping against the pillows in exasperation. His wrist has begun to throb too, the skin there rubbed raw and chafing from the metal cuffs constantly rubbing on his skin. He hisses when the handcuff scrapes painfully against his wrist bone again, trying to tug the metal ring higher up his arm to keep it away even though it slips back down anyway. 

Jongin looks up at him in concern before noting his discomfort, zoning in on the redness of his wrist as his brows tug together. 

"I think I have something for that," he says, pushing his laptop aside to reach into the nightstand drawer. He rummages around with his free hand for a moment before pulling out a small tub of vaseline. 

Before Chanyeol can reach out and take it from him though, Jongin takes his hand gently in his own, setting it down on his lap as he unscrews the lid and scoops up a dollop from the tub. He presses a finger against his skin tentatively, careful not to intensify the soreness as he begins massaging Chanyeol's wrist gently. Pushing the metal ring aside, he rubs his thumb into the skin gently, spreading the cream well enough to protect the area. 

It's soothing, feeling him rub slow circles into his stinging wrist. It's the look of focus in Jongin's face though, the concerned tug of his brows that has Chanyeol's heart leaping in his chest. It's not that Jongin is never soft and gentle with him but this feels particularly tender, like nothing is more important than soothing the ache in his wrist. He scoots down a little the bed with a sigh, feeling himself relax under Jongin’s sure but soft fingers and leans his head against Jongin's shoulder.

Finally, Jongin deems it fully massaged enough to pull away and Chanyeol immediately misses the feeling of his fingers pressed into his skin. 

"It's not much, but it'll help I guess," Jongin says, wiping his fingers off on his sweats and tosses the tub back into the drawer. He turns back to look at Chanyeol with a satisfied smile and slips the fingers of his cuffed hand in between the grooves of Chanyeol’s, pressing their palms together loosely. 

Chanyeol lifts his head off Jongin’s shoulder and leans in on a whim, kissing him lightly on the cheek. 

"My hero"

He pulls back a fraction and their faces are so close that Chanyeol could probably count every single one of Jongin's eyelashes if he wanted to except he's too distracted by the way Jongin wets his lips the way he always does when he's nervous. And Jongin looks positively terrified right now, fixing his gaze on a spot somewhere on Chanyeol's neck. 

Something drops in Chanyeol’s chest and he wonders if he’s pushed too far and given himself away to an unwilling party. Jongin doesn’t recoil though, he doesn’t push Chanyeol away to put some distance between them and his heart settles, if just for a moment, wondering what it means; _hoping_.

"Hey," Chanyeol murmurs, eyebrows furrowing and he can't seem to bring himself to move away either. Jongin brings his eyes up to meet his gaze and locks them there this time, staring at him wordlessly. 

Chanyeol doesn’t manage to get another word in before Jongin leans all the way in and presses their lips together tentatively. 

Taken by surprise, Chanyeol freezes for a moment. The lack of response has Jongin pulling back a little and Chanyeol can almost taste the apology he’s likely about to spew before he pushes forward and kisses him back. 

He feels Jongin’s tongue slide along his lower lip and Chanyeol lets his mouth fall open with a sigh, letting Jongin flick his tongue inside. He slots their lips together easily and kisses back eagerly, curling their tongues together and swallowing down the quiet moan Jongin lets out. 

Chanyeol can feel the tip of Jongin’s nose pressing into his cheek as he angles his head to kiss him deeper, feeling his heart thundering almost painfully against his ribs. Chanyeol leans in closer, reaching over with his free hand to cup Jongin’s jaw and steady him as he pulls away to suck on his lower lip lightly before licking into his mouth again. 

They break apart when there’s a sudden knock on the door and Junmyeon walks in to find them both red faced and panting slightly.

He gives them a silent once over before tossing something to Jongin with a metallic ping. Jongin catches it deftly, staring down at his palm to find the key to the handcuffs there. 

“I found it in Baekhyun’s room,” Junmyeon provides lightly, already backing out of the room. “Hurry up and get that thing off and start getting ready, we’re leaving soon.”

“Wait but,” Jongin splutters, staring from the key back at Junmyeon. “Baekhyun and Jongdae said they couldn’t find it anywhere, how did–”

“Did they? They must not have looked hard enough.” 

With that he slips out of the room but Chanyeol swears he can see Junmyeon smiling to himself. He makes a note to find out the extent of his contribution to this all later on. 

Bewildered, Jongin stares after him before seeming to remember the key still in his hand. He fits it into the keyhole on the handcuffs and it unlocks with the most satisfying click Chanyeol has ever heard. He slips the metal rings off and tosses them aside as they both cradle their freed wrists in relief. 

It suddenly hits him that he’s not obliged to stay by Jongin’s side anymore and he wonders whether he should get up or stay where he is. Jongin seems to be wondering the same thing, staring down at his knees as they both fall into silence. 

They hear the sound of the bathroom door opening in the hallway and Minseok calling out that it’s free and they both get to their feet. 

“So I’m gonna–”

“I guess I should–”

They both speak at the same time before bursting into laughter, Jongin’s face flushing and Chanyeol feeling the back of his neck burning. 

Taking a bold step forward, Chanyeol moves right into Jongin’s space and fits his palm against Jongin’s, linking their fingers together. Jongin squeezes his fingers back, his lips twitching.

“D’you wanna go first?” Jongin tries again after a moment. “I always end up using all the hot water anyway so it’s probably a good idea any–” 

His rambling is cut off when Chanyeol leans in to kiss the rest of his words away, circling a hand around his waist to press him closer to his chest. Jongin kisses back even as he laughs into his mouth, little wheezing sounds that have Chanyeol laughing too until they’re giggling and brushing their lips together more than they are actually kissing. 

Jongin’s free hand comes up to palm Chanyeol’s cheek, brushing his thumb softly along the underside of his eye before leaning in again to press his lips against Chaneyol’s again in a chaste, tender kiss. 

“Now go,” he says as he pulls away, reaching out to pat Chanyeol’s butt fondly. “Junmyeon-hyung will kill us if we’re not ready in twenty minutes. 

“Right, yeah,” Chanyeol sighs, turning to grab a fresh pair of underwear. He can’t help but steal another kiss from Jongin when he turns back, and another two before he leaves the room. It’s going to be a long day, and it’ll be a while until he can kiss him again, Chanyeol laments wistfully.

 

-

 

It’s nearing midnight when they trudge back into the dorm and they’re all too worn out to do anything but slump onto their beds and knock out. Chanyeol spares a moment to mourn the absence of Jongin’s warmth beside him now that the handcuffs are gone. He’s in the middle of being torn between crawling over to Jongin’s bed and calling out to him before the corner of his blanket is lifted up and a warm body slips in beside him. 

“Jongin?” Chanyeol blinks, half wondering if his thoughts are that loud. 

“It’s cold,” Jongin mumbles sleepily, scooting in closer until he’s laying half on top on Chanyeol.

“Is– ”he starts, uncertainty lacing his voice, “is this okay?” 

Grinning, Chanyeol shifts to accommodate him, letting Jongin’s thigh slip in snugly between his own and throws an arm around Jongin’s waist to hold him close. He doesn’t need to say anything as he tucks Jongin’s head under his chin, feeling Jongin immediately going lax. He stays awake long enough to hear Jongin’s breathing become slow and steady before dozing off peacefully himself.


End file.
